Sharjah hosts exclusive Arab launch of international online project exploring historic Arab, Turkish and European relations
SHARJAH, May 20th, 2015: Sharjah Maritime Museum today hosted the exclusive Arab launch of Sharing History,
an exciting new international project involving Sharjah Museums
Department (SMD) as a strategic partner in cooperation with Museum With
No Frontiers (MWNF).
The project,
which aims to promote intercultural dialogue through art and heritage,
saw experts from 22 countries across the Arab world, Turkey and Europe
working together to present the narratives of their shared histories
from their own perspectives.
Featuring a
searchable database of thousands of artefacts and the option for users
to “curate” their own exhibition, the Museum With No Frontiers is a
virtual platform that hosts online exhibitions, the latest of which,
Sharing History, explores the relationship between the Arab World, the
Ottoman Empire and Europe between 1815 and 1918 – an important
historical period that still determines modern relations.
As well as
supporting the project strategically throughout and hosting today’s
prestigious event, SMD has contributed collections from some of its main
museums to the online database and exhibitions. It has also co-curated
several of the exhibition themes, most notably Economy and Trade.
The Sharing History
site features 10 themed exhibitions displaying historic photographs,
works of art and artefacts, and a searchable database with information
on about 3,000 items. It is the culmination of a two-year collaboration
between experts from the Arab world, Turkey and Europe who have
researched and analyzed their shared histories.
Today’s event marks the only launch of Sharing History
in the Arab World. The project has already launched in Ankara, Turkey,
with a European launch happening in Vienna, Austria next month.
Manal Ataya,
Director General of SMD, said: “It’s a huge honour for us to play such
an important role in an international project that helps to encourage
intercultural dialogue through shared heritage.
“It demonstrates
our commitment to working with partners from across the globe to
celebrate the interconnections between different cultural legacies and
to promote harmony through art and history.”
Visitors to the Sharing History portal
will be able to inspect a huge variety of objects, images and documents
contributed by partners from 22 countries, including items from the
Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization, Sharjah Maritime Museum, Al Hisn
Fort and the Orientalist Collection of HH Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah.
Themed timelines
and historic profiles of each participating country provide further
context, while special interactive features allow users to create their
own personalized collections or curate their own exhibitions.
Sharing History, under
an umbrella partnership between MWNF and the League of Arab States,
attempts to present the complex and sensitive 1815-1918 period from the
perspectives of the research carried out by the countries involved – as
opposed to the more prevalent “Western” view of events.
Maintaining the
theme of dialogue through culture, the SMD is hosting a cultural tourism
workshop today and tomorrow with the aim of developing ideas for
Sharjah’s first cultural tourism trail based on Sharjah Museums. The
workshop, which follows on from the Sharing History launch event, will be attended by key partners including the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority and Shurooq.
Ataya, added: “We want local partner organisations to get something practical out of the Sharing History launch,
so we decided to host this brainstorming workshop to hopefully develop a
tourist trail around Sharjah Museums based in the Heart of Sharjah.
“It’s something
tourists with a particular historical and cultural interest can use to
plan their trip and explore Sharjah before their visit. The workshop is
in the same spirit as the launch of Sharing History – bridging
cultures and introducing history from a local perspective. The first
trail could be rolled out later in the year, with more to follow in the
future.”
